Pork Quality Classification System using Semiconductor

Gas Sensors and pH Sensor

By Erhard S. Hilvano and Aldrin Jay B. Delos Reyes
College of Engineering
Adrian U. Gadin - Adviser

ABSTRACT

Pork meat has become Filipinos ' primary staple food. This is due to its
availability and attractive price. But it poses health risks to consumers because of its
vulnerability to spoilage, mishandling and selling hot meat. This study has proposed
a way to classify the level of freshness of pork meat to mitigate this problem. A
system was designed in this study to identify the pork's freshness level. It consists of
gas sensors, pH sensors and a smartphone app for collecting and storing data for
end users. The gas sensors are used to detect Hydrogen sulfide (MQ136), Ammonia
(MQ136) and VOC’s (MQ3) produced by the meat. The pH is measured using a
water pH sensor (SEN1016). The meat samples are classified into three: Fresh,
Acceptable and Bad; which are subjected to their gas emissions (smell) and pH
value. The device will detect the quantity of gases emitted by the sample and use
dedicated sensors to check its pH value and provide a reading of the classification.
The device's pork freshness classification has a high 91.67 percent success rate.
This is due to the small difference in fresh and acceptable category values. Although
the system differentiates the meat from fresh to bad successfully. The system is
considered functional and reliable, but the classification algorithm and the pH sensor
used in particular need a lot to be improved.
Keywords: Hydrogen Sulfide, pH, VOC, Gas Sensors, hot meat

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
As a source of protein for humans, meat is the main livestock product and pork is
the most consumed by the Filipinos. Traditionally, meat is always present at every
Filipino celebration and most Filipino dishes are made with pork as their main
ingredient. Pork is one of the most commonly eaten meat because it has always
been cheaper because it is easier to raise pork and it's one of the meat produced
most consistently. Nearly 5 million kilograms were produced in 2016, according to
the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The latest data from the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that an average Filipino
consumes approximately 11.6 kg of chicken, 3 kg of beef and 14.2 kg of pork, 2 kg
higher than the average annual world pork consumption. But like other meats, when
mishandled, pork tends to spoil. In general, degradation of meat quality is
accelerated when it is not properly stored and becomes dangerous to consume
(Wijaya, 2016). Due to the breakdown of fat, protein, carbohydrates present in meat
over time, the quality of meat decreases. Which causes meat color, texture, and
smell to change. The meat thus becomes a favorable environment for the growth of
bacteria.
However, when customers want to buy meat, freshness is the main factor. People
are generally uncertain as to whether to dispose of or eat old meat. Therefore, it is
important for consumers to know the freshness of meat and also to benefit health
and economy. If we can identify the freshness of meat, we can avoid the loss of
inconsumable meat and prevent the risk of having foodborne illnesses.
The level of meat freshness is an important factor in identifying meat quality and
is used to determine whether or not meat is consumable (Guo and Bao, 2016). Due
to inconsistent, error-prone and labor-intensive measurement, meat quality
assessment by human sense is difficult and takes a long time (Xiaobo and Jiewen,
2008). Government needs to consider a better way to check meat quality for public
health and safety. The "Philippine Meat Inspection Code" system now ensures meat
safety and quality for human consumption. The National Meat Inspection Services,
Agriculture Department's attached agency, is responsible for all meat and meat
inspection matters and hygiene on pre-slaughter and post-slaughter.
That is why the development of this research will assist consumers' public health
safety and awareness of the quality of their meat selling by the vendor. This will also
help future food safety researchers in other products as well as in meat.
Upon completion of this research, the consumer will be aware that the use of
electronic nose and pH meter will evaluate their purchase of meat inspection on the
public wet market. Design of the sensor system to identify the level of meat
freshness with the electronic nose and pH sensor. The e - nose is made up of three
gas sensors for sensing meat odor and a pH sensor for obtaining the meat pH value
decreases over time after slaughter. Microcontroller processes the combinations or
patterns of gas sensor array and pH sensor outputs to identify the freshness level of
the meat (Suleimenova 2016). This system is expected to replace the traditional
meat inspection method with human senses.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

The Pork Meat Quality Classification System aims to assess users in selecting
good quality pork meat, either for large scale, or small scale inspection.
This study aims the following:

 To develop a pork meat quality assessment system

1. To identify what gas sensors to use in detecting Ammonia (NH 3), Hydrogen
Sulfide (H2S) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
2. To identify the appropriate pH sensor
3. To identify and implement a classification algorithm for the system

 To design a mobile application for user interface

1. Retrieve data from the device
 2. Store data received from the device

 To evaluate the overall system

1. Reliability
2. Functionality

1.3 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 represents the conceptual framework of the system. The system is
comprised of two main parts: the sensory network, and the microcontroller unit. The
sensor network continuously gathers parametric data from the sample, and the data
is fed into the microcontroller for processing and interpretation.
First, pork meats are sampled by the intended device. The device measures gas
concentrations (such as Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia, VOCs) and pH in order to
determine whether the pork meat is Fresh, Acceptable or Bad.
Fresh means it is safe and has good characteristics of fresh meat. Acceptable
means meat that started to show signs of meat degradation but it still safe to
consume. Bad means it is already not safe to consume and produces bad smell.

1.4 Scope and Delimitation

The hardware and software of the system is oriented with a single chip
microcontroller, sensors, oled display and a smartphone app for the device. The
output will be based from the four-parameter measurements acquired by the
system’s sensory network, such as the Hydrogen Sulfide Concentration, Ammonia
Concentration, VOC Concentration, and of course, the power of Hydrogen (pH)
concentration of the meat sample.
 The device is capable of measuring and classifying pork into 3 freshness levels:
Fresh, Acceptable and Bad. The gas measured in a closed container, in order to
reduce possible errors.. The measurement of pH is done using a 50 – 80 ml of
minced meat and water solution in a 100ml beaker. The testing should be under a
temperature no less than 20C and no more than 37C.
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study is to be proved beneficial to:
Pork Consumers. The study, in particular, is for the consumer’s welfare. The device
will be an essential assistance in buying good quality pork.
Pork Retailers. This will be a great help for the retailers to monitor not only the
quality of their own products, but also to check if their sources provide them pork
meat of good quality.
Researchers. This study may be used as a reference material for researchers who
are engaging similar topics.
Government Agencies. This study may be used as a tool in pork quality inspection.
1.6 Definition of Terms
Pork. It is the meat of a domesticated pig and it is the main subject of the study.
Hydrogen Sulfide. It is a gas sensed by the MQ136 sensor, a colorless, flammable,
extremely hazardous gas produced by the breakdown of organic matter.
Ammonia. It is one of the gases measured and is sensed by MQ135 sensor. It is a
colorless alkaline gas formed in the body during decomposition of organic materials
during a large number of metabolically important reactions.
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). A gas sensed by MQ3 and it is a compound
that easily become vapors and gases. Acetone, methyl, ethyl, ketone, etc., are
examples of VOCs found in decaying food.
Power of Hydrogen (pH). It is used to measure the quality of the meat. It is a
measure of molar concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution such measure of
acidity and basicity.
Microcontroller. A computer that is present in a single integrated circuit which is
dedicated to perform one task and execute one specific application. It contains a
memory, programmable input. In this study, it refers to the Nodemcu and the Arduino
uno.
Sensor. It refers to the gas sensors and pH sensor. It is a device that detects or
measures a physical property and records, indicates, or otherwise respond to it.
 STUDY OF RELATED LITERATURES
Past and recent related studies and literature are presented in this chapter. In
the study we are conducting, these studies and literature served as a guide and
references. This includes book, thesis, dissertation and other related works
published and unpublished materials.
2.1 Related Literatures
Below are the various literatures related to our study that have relevance and
similarities. These have served as the study background and enable us to explore
more important aspects in our study.
Balasubramanian et al (2016) on their book “Electronic Noses and Tongues in
Wojnowski et al (2017) with their article entitled “Electronic noses: Powerful tools in
meat quality assessment” They listed the main meat production and processing
applications of electronic noses. In conclusion, they stated that there is a need to
develop cheaper, smaller, more sensitive and selective e - noses designed and
trained specifically for the evaluation of a particular type of meat or product in order
to make the method more feasible for use in industry or at retail level, and that such
a device would be equipped with only a few sensors that are most relevant to the
application.

2.2 Related Studies

Wan Kim et al () on their study “pH as Analytical Indicator for Managing Pork
Meat Quality” – stated that since the value above pH>6.1 is a high possibility in
ultimate pH to induce dark firm dry (DFD) pork that consumers dislike, it is assumed
that the value of pH5.7~6.1 is the most suitable pork for consumers. Therefore, they
suggested that pig breeding and pre- and post - slaughter management are critically
important to the production of pork in order to maintain its appropriate pH.
Furthermore, they suggested that pH is an important criterion for the evaluation of
meat quality for entrepreneurs who are directly involved with pork consumers.
This study has shown that pH is a meat quality factor and that it decreases
over time. This study strongly supports our own study and the use of pH to measure
the quality of meat. Their findings on pH values will be a good reference in our own
study as we're going to use pork and pH meters.
Rivai et al (2018), “Meat Freshness Identification System Using Gas Sensor
Array and Color Sensor in Conjunction with Neural Network Pattern Recognition”. In
this research, they proposed a sensor system designed to quickly, accurately and
non-destructively identify the freshness level of meat. Their system has been
implemented in a Raspberry Pi equipped with gas and color sensors as tools for
freshness identification to replace human smell and vision in determining a fresh
meat. To identify the freshness of the meat, pattern recognition powered by a neural
network was used. The odors sensed by the gas sensor array were the neural
network inputs of MQ-136, MQ-137, TGS 2620 and Red, Green, Blue values sensed
by TCS3200 color sensor. Three levels of freshness, such as fresh meat, half - red
meat, and rotten meat, have been tested. They concluded that the degree of fresh
meat and non - fresh meat in their system is 100 percent successful. The
implementation of the system was expected to replace the traditional human senses
measurement (i.e. nose and eyes) in order to obtain equal measurement as different
human examiner acquires different results and to eliminate the impact of meat
bacteria or virus.
This study is very similar to our study. They used gas sensors and color
sensors to identify the freshness of the meat and also gas sensors for our study, but
we won't use color sensors, but instead we will use pH sensors. They also have the
same purpose for our study, so they used their study as a guide for our own study.
“Experimental Use of Electronic Nose for Analysis of Volatile Organic
Compound (VOC)” of Saeed (2009) paper illustrates the function and application of
electronic nose and investigates the effective use of e - nose in detection at different
concentrations of gasses with some odor developed by volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) such as ethanol, acetone and benzene. The response and characteristics
show that the Electronic Nose is a reliable tool that can be used to control the
environment (air quality, pollutants and emission levels), medical science (urine, skin
and breath odors, etc.), food industry (coffee, milk, soft drink fish, meat, etc.),
pharmaceutics, chemical industry, defense and security industries (detection of
humanitarian landmines, etc.) and semiconductor industrial processes. Finally, the
characteristic of three volatile organic compounds shows that it is possible to use the
electronic nose for other harmful gases. Thus, an electronic nose is a reliable tool for
harmful gas detection.
This study of Saeed shows that a gas sensor can be used to identify VOCs.
Since we have been dealing with meat that is prone to bacteria, we will use gas
sensors to measure the VOCs levels of meat as bacteria produce VOCs.

METHODOLOGY
This study aims to develop and design a pork meat classification device using
semiconductor gas sensor and pH sensor to determine the freshness and the quality
of the meat. The purpose is to identify the freshness and quality of the meat and
display and store the results
3.1 Product Development
Researchers have gone through a comprehensive analysis in the research
development. Starting from idea generation and gathering. Data was gathered from
individuals who are knowledgeable in the present study, as well as from the different
references that is related to the research. A brief planning was also conducted in
order to identify various factors that are relevant to the success of the research.
In order to accomplish the study, the researchers will use the Waterfall model
as a guide in implementation. It will allow them to construct and plan for the project
systematically.
 Figure 2. Research Design and Approach
A. Requirement Analysis
Identification and acquisition of relevant information about the essential
requirements of the design has been briefly planned. Individual components are to
be analyzed in terms of its functionality, reliability, availability, cost, and its durability.
Through this, the researchers will be able to select appropriate components to be
used in the system. They will also consider the complexity of the programming
language and the mobile application platform to be used. For the overall system
design, specific components for the hardware and the software are to be identified
considering the factors abovementioned.
B. System Design
The system design is divided into two parts the hardware and software design.
The hardware design is the circuit implementation that includes all gas sensors, pH
sensor, Wi-Fi module and microcontroller used in this study. The software design
includes all programs used for the microcontrollers and for the mobile app.
1) Hardware design
 Figure 3. Schematic Diagram of the Hardware
Figure 3 represents the planned circuit diagram of the system. This shows the
actual hardware components to be used. Specifically, the hardware part is
comprised of a WiFi-ready microcontroller, a battery, an analog input expander
module, gas sensors, and pH sensor. The microcontroller will be handling all the
instructions and processes needed by the system.
a) System Parts
In this study, the following devices will be used is identified.

 Processing Unit
NodeMCU is an open source IoT platform. It has a built-in WiFi module,
comprised of digital I/O pins, and is also an Arduino software-compatible board.

 Gas Sensor
The researchers considered the following:
a. Availability
b. Cost
c. Reliability
d. Sensitivity
In this study, the gas sensors used were MQ-135 to detect NH3, MQ-136 to
detect H2S and MQ-135 to detect VOC. These sensors require a voltage supply of
5V. The voltage values sensed by these gas sensors are due to the change in
resistance of based on the amount of gas detected, and are also sent to the
microcontroller (Arduino) converting it from analog to digital and will be processed by
the program.

 pH Sensor
Specially designed for Arduino-compatible controllers. It is commonly used in
Water quality testing, aquaculture, and bio robotics. For quality measurement
purposes we will be using pH sensor. In this study, the researchers measure the pH
of the water where the meat sample is submerged.
 Analog Input Expander
ADS1115 is an analog to digital converter i2c device used for converting
analog data inputs into digital data inputs. It is able to send/receive data with great
precision because it has a sampling rate of 860 samples per second. Since
Nodemcu only has one analog input pin, it can only accommodate one analog-type
sensor. Due to this limitation, ADS1115 is able to expand the analog input pins of the
microcontroller.

 Organic LED Display

 It is an OLED monochrome 128x64 dot matrix display module with an I2C
interface. This module will be used to display result generated and processed by
the microcontroller.
2) Software Design
The system is also comprised of a system software. The software design includes all
programs in microcontroller (Arduino), the design of the GUI for the smartphone and
the classification algorithm for the evaluation of the results.

Figure 4 Software Algorithm

Figure 3.6 shows the system flowchart algorithm of the device. It outlines the
processes and the system’s execution.
C. Implementation
The system to be develop is composed of gas sensors, pH sensor, oled
display and smartphone app. Before consolidating it into a system, the components
must be calibrated and tested individually for its functionality.
All of the sensors used were in need for calibration. To ensure accurate
readings, manual calibration and proper offsetting should be conducted to each
individual sensors. The gas sensors are programmed to read gas sensor in voltage,
so the conversion of the analog readings into voltage is needed. Whereas, for the pH
sensor, calibration using buffer solution should be conducted to achieve accurate
results. Since we have dealt with multiple analog sensors, ADS1115 module is used
in order for the microcontroller to accommodate each sensor.
For our smartphone app, we used MIT app inventor 2. The smartphone app
must be able to read, display and save results from the Nodemcu. For that will be
using Google Firebase as an IOT database for our system. The Nodemcu must send
data to firebase and to be fetched by the application and option to save the readings
and results into a .csv file.
D. Integration and Test
After each unit is developed and tested, it will be integrated into a system described
by our study. The system will be tested for any faults and failure in terms of software
and hardware. It will be discussed in Chapter IV.
E. Deployment and Maintenance
After thorough testing the system is then put into actual environment. For our
system we’ll perform actual measurements on actual subjects and analyze the
results that will be discussed in Chapter IV. These results will show how functional
and reliable the system is. Through the system development, minor issues came up
and were also solved properly.
3.2 Research Procedure
To be able to develop this device, we need to gather data and information since it is
the main factor that will help us develop this device. The data collected will be the
basis and the reference for this study “PORK MEAT QUALITY CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM USING SEMICONDUCTOR GAS SENSORS AND pH SENSOR”.
3.3 Research Instrument
For us to be able to have precise data or information, the researchers
reviewed and analyzed the related literatures and studies presented in the previous
chapter. In order to gather data or information relevant to our study, research
instruments must be used.
3.3.1 Experiment
It is a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test hypothesis, or
demonstrate a known fact. For us to gain data to be integrated in our system, the
researchers need to perform experiments to be able to have a reference for our
study.
In the experimentation, the baseline for our system will be determined by
performing measurements of gas concentrations and pH values of the pork meat. A
piece of fresh pork meat is needed. Gas and pH measurement will be conducted in a
normal room conditions to mimic the wet market conditions. It will be performed for
10 hours with the measurement interval of 30 minutes. The results of the experiment
will be discussed in chapter 4.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter discusses the result of the designing, implementation and testing
done during the process of making the system. This also includes the tables,
schematic diagrams, flowcharts of the system.

4.1 Hardware Integration

The section discusses the hardware design implementation of the system
including the final circuit and interfacing.
4.1.1 Nodemcu
The microcontroller used is the Nodemcu. It is the main processor of the system,
which the gas sensors, pH probe, ads1115 and another microcontroller, Arduino, is
connected. It is powered by the Nodemcu breakout board that needs a minimum of 6
volts to operate.

Figure 5 NodeMCU w/ Expansion Baseboard

With the use of Nodemcu breakout board, the sensors are supplied with 5Vdc
provided by the breakout board. The analog input expander ADS1115 is connected
through the breakout board. It is supplied with 3v and the SCA and SCL pins are
connected to pin D1 and D2 respectively. The pH sensors are read through pin A0 of
the NodeMCU..
4.1.2 ADS1115
ADS1115 is a 16-bit i2c analog input expander. Since Nodemcu itself has a
limited number of analog inputs, the researchers decided to use ads1115 to interface
the multiple gas sensors.
 Figure 6 ADS1115 with oled and gas sensors
4.1.3 Arduino Uno R3
The Arduino serves as the secondary microcontroller in the system. It is
mainly used to alongside with the OLED Display. Using the software serial function,
the NodeMCU sends the data collected by the sensors to the Arduino serially by
interconnecting its Tx and Rx pins (See Figure below). Since sending variable
through the serial wire is very complex, the researchers devised a method in
displaying the result. Instead of sending variable values, the researchers will send
dedicated “strings” that corresponds to the result of the test. (See Table #)

String Sent Serially Quality Equivalent

“1” “FRESH”
“2” “ACCEPTABLE”
“3” “BAD”
Table 1 String and Quality Equivalent

Figure 7 Arduino, OLED Display, Serial Tx and Rx

Figure 8 OLED, pH Sensor and MQ Gas Sensors
4.2 Software Integration
The section discusses the software design of the system including the final program
and the smartphone app.
4.2.1 Nodemcu and Arduino Uno
The code in the Nodemcu is programmed to measure sensor values and
classify it in a classification algorithm. It also sends data to the google firebase’s
database to be retrieved by the smartphone app and send data to Arduino to display
the results in oled display.
4.2.2 Smartphone App
Using the MIT App Inventor, the app is programmed to retrieve the data sent
by the Nodemcu to the google firebase. The retrieved data will be displayed in a list
view, store it to the phone’s memory as a .csv file and send the data and results back
to the firebase as logs.
4.2.3 Google Firebase
The google Firebase is used as a real-time database which receives the
processed data from the NodeMCU, and make these data available for dedicated
users to be fetched. It also serves as the log for the saved samples.
4.3 Product Description
The project study was entitled “Meat Quality Classification System for Pork
Meat”. It addressed the need of determining the current status of pork meat
considering various factors and quality.
The device consists of two microcontrollers: one for the data acquisition,
calculations and classification, and the other one is for the display; power by a 12-
Volt, 2-Amp power supply, and an OLED display for displaying the result of a
particular meat sample test. The researchers had undergone tests and evaluations
to each of the components. General features of the device are as follows:
  The system is able to classify pork meat samples whether it is FRESH,
ACCEPTABLE, or BAD.
 It is able to detect gas measurement levels emitted by raw meat such as
Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia and VOCs, which are prime indicators for the
meat’s smell.
 Detects the pH level of the meat and relates it to the quality.
 The system is semi-portable, and is fit for use in a specific section of wet
markets or in slaughterhouses.
 The parameter values detected by the system are sent to a dedicated cloud
server, and are also fetched by a dedicated android application.
 Able to save relevant data gathered, and has a real-time log.
4.3.1 Materials and Cost Benefit Analysis

ITEM QUANTITY UNIT PRICE SUBTOTAL

NodeMCU v.1 ESP-8266 1 P 400.00 P 400.00
Adafruit ADS1115 1 P 450.00 P 450.00
Adafruit SSD113 OLED 128x64
1 P 500.00 P 500.00
I2C
NodeMCU Expansion Base
1 P 150.00 P 150.00
Board
MQ-135 Air Quality Sensor 1 P 200.00 P 200.00
MQ-136 Hydrogen Sulfide Sensor 1 P 1560.00 P 1560.00
MQ-4 Methane Sensor 1 P 200.00 P 200.00
pH Sensor 1 P 1600.00 P 1600.00
LM7812 Voltage Regulator 1 P 45.00 P 45.00
Diode 1N4001 2 P 5.00 P 10.00
Transformer 12V, 2A 1 P 280.00 P 280.00
Capacitor 25V 100uF 2 P 10.00 P 20.00
Connecting Wires 2 P 60.00 P 120.00
Universal PCB 4x3 in 1 P 16.00 P 16.00
Pushbutton Switch 1 P 10.00 P 10.00
SPST Switch 11 P 15.00 P 165.00
LED 1 P 5.00 P 5.00
Miscellaneous P 600.00 P 600.00
TOTAL P 6331.00

Table 2. List of Materials, Quantity and Cost

4.4 Experimentation
For us to have the needed data for the baseline of our project and test the system
after integration, the researchers need to conduct experiment. First, we purchased
fresh pork from the market. Next is we prepare the sample by cutting the sample into
two. The first piece of pork is put into the gas sensor chamber for gas concentration
measurements and the other piece is chopped into small pieces and create a
distilled water and pork meat solution. The measurements are conducted every 30
thirty minutes until e meat spoils. The readings are shown below (Table 5)
 1st Experiment Gas Sensor Values
0.80
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40 MQ3 (Vol ts )
Voltage

0.30
0.20 MQ135 (Vol ts )
0.10 MQ136 (Vol ts )
0.00
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
7: 8: 9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14: 15: 16:

TIME

1st Experiment pH
5.60
5.58
5.56
5.54
5.52
5.50 pH
pH

5.48
5.46
5.44
00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00
7: 7: 8: 8: 9: 9: 10: 10: 11: 11: 12: 12: 13: 13: 14: 14: 15: 15: 16:

TIME

Figure 9. First Experiment

In this experiment, we measured the meat for 9 hours, with interval of 30
minutes. The meat started to show significant changes after 4 hours of
measurements, this true for all sensors though MQ135 doesn’t show a significant
change. After 7 hours, the meat started to give off unpleasant smell and significantly
changed color to a grayish pink.

2nd Experiment Gas Sensor Values

1400.00
1200.00
1000.00
800.00
Voltage (mV)

MQ3 (mV)
600.00
MQ136 (mV)
400.00 MQ135 (mV)
200.00
0.00
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
:0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0
10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17

TIME
 2nd Experiment pH
6.2
6.1
6
5.9
5.8
pH

5.7
5.6
5.5
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
:0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0 :3 :0
10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17

pH

Figure 10. Second Experiment

After the first experiment, we noticed that reading gas sensor in terms of Volts
is not effective so in this second experiments we decided to measure it in millivolts.
There are small changes for the first 2 hours of the measurements. The MQ3 gas
sensor gives more significant changes unlike the MQ135 and MQ136 sensors. The
pH barely gives any significant changes. After 4 hours the gas concentration started
to rise rapidly, this means that the meat started to begin the its spoilage process,
especially for the MQ3 gas sensor. The pH also begins to decline; this means that
the meat begins to produce lactic acid as a sign for the decomposition process. After
6 hours, the meat smells bad already and it has a pinkish gray color. It is safe to say
that the meat is already spoiled. The readings also show that there is a huge rise of
gas concentrations and pH also declined into a value of 5.79 as shown in the Table.

3rd Experiment pH
55
5.
45
5.
35
5.
pH

25
5.
15
5. :00 :30 :00 :30 :00 :30 :00 :30 :00 :30 :00 :30 :00 :30 :00 :30 :00 :30 :00
9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18

TIME

pH
After the
second experiment we noticed that the pH measurements are different for each
sample. The final pH value depends on the initial pH value. The pork that has a high
initial value will decline to a final value that is higher if compared to pork that has
lower initial pH value.
Figure 11. pH Value Experiment
Level of Fresh, Acceptable and Bad for the Range of Identified Parameter

Sensor Fresh Acceptable Bad

Value<500m
MQ3 V 500 > Value < 600 Value>600

MQ136 Value<175 175 > Value <280 Value>280

Value<140
MQ135 mV 140 > Value < 170 Value>170
Table 3. Generated Baselines

 Recommended pH for pork must range 6.1 – 5.6

4.6 Functionality and Reliability Test
To determine how functional and reliable the system operates, we conduct actual
test using 4 fresh meat samples. It was measured for 8 hours. We measured the
meat on right after preparing the sample, after 4 hours and after hours. The initial
readings the device must classify the meat as fresh. After four hours it must be
measured as acceptable and after 8 hours it must be measured as bad.

Figure 12 Four Different Pork Samples

SAMPLE MQ3 MQ136 MQ135 pH RESULT

A 421 156 133 5.91 Fresh
B 393 149 128 5.76 Fresh
C 418 159 130 6.03 Fresh
D 394 150 125 6.01 Fresh
Table 4. Initial measurements

SAMPLE MQ3 MQ136 MQ135 pH RESULT

A 507 230 161 5.78 Acceptabl
 e
B 461 171 155 5.66 Fresh
C 520 234 151 5.87 Acceptabl
e
D 512 211 164 5.82 Acceptabl
e
Table 5. Measurements after 4 hours

SAMPLE MQ3 MQ136 MQ135 pH RESULT

A 823 335 200 5.61 Bad
B 784 312 189 5.54 Bad
C 793 346 215 5.63 Bad
D 811 322 224 5.64 Bad
Table 6. Measurements after 8 hours

The device successfully identified the meat 11 out of 12 with a percentage 91.67.
4.5 Device Operation
This section discusses how the device is works and used.
4.5.1 Data Acquisition
A pork meat sample is divided into two; one is for the gas chamber, and the
other sample is for the testing of its pH (meat is submerged in water.) The device will
be continuously monitoring the gas sensor values and its pH value. These raw data
are now processed by the Nodemcu, then sent to Firebase cloud, making it
accessible to devices, specifically to its dedicated android application. The device
needs a WiFi with an internet connection in order to send data.
4.5.2 Data Fetching and Application User Interface
Once these data are available in the Firebase cloud, the android application
will be fetching these data, and display it to its graphical user interface. Some key
features of the android application GUI are as follows:

 Displays near real-time parameter values.

 Displays the result of the classification
 Able to save sampling data (along with its name, parameter values, and
classification)
 The application also requires an internet connection in order to receive the
data from the cloud server.
 Figure 13 Application Graphical User Interface

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

This chapter summarizes and concludes the entire study for future
modifications and recommendations, for those individuals who will pursue this topic
as their research basis.
5.1 Summary, Project Outline and Conclusions
In spite of the great efforts of the National Meat Inspection Service, the selling
of potentially contaminated and low quality meat is still existent. This problem poses
a risk to the consumers since pork meat has become one of the staple food for
Filipinos.
Hence, to ensure that the consumers will be able determine and classify the
pork meat’s freshness, the researchers have devised a method and implemented a
device that will classify whether the meat is FRESH, ACCEPTABLE, or BAD. The
system comprises of semiconductor gas sensors: MQ-136, MQ-135, MQ-3; and a
water pH Sensor: SEN1016. The device also has an OLED display, wherein the
result/classification of the sample is displayed.
Through the development of the device, the researchers had undergone a
series of experiments in order to generate parameter baselines and a system design.
The experiment shows there are factors that affect the measurements of the device.
External factors like the quality of air and temperature are most common.
The functionality and reliability test shows that all of the components work
normally. The sensors measurements were correct and the smartphone application
successfully retrieved and stored the data. The results from the final test show that
the device successfully classifies the samples 11 out of 12 or approximately 91.67 %
successful classification but it clearly identified the fresh meat from unsafe meat.
This shows that there are a lot to improve especially in the classification algorithm
part when classifying the meat in 3 categories.
Through this technology, the user can be notified about the current status of
the raw pork meat, and provide an assessment whether the meat is still acceptable
and fit for consumption.
5.2 Recommendations
Since technology are constantly progressing, user preferences are also
gaining and setting higher standards. In order to keep up with the progression, the
project is open for future recommendations and modifications.
The Meat Quality Classification System for Pork Meat, a project prototype, is
a health and sanitary related project, which aimed to address the problem in the
determination of pork meat’s freshness/quality. Its laboratory-type design is
recommended for use in a particular section in wet markets and slaughterhouses.
The researchers are looking forward for major modifications and
improvements in the devices portability and sensors. As stated above, user
preferences are also changing with the progress of technology. The researchers
have found several issues on the design that needs major adjustments and
modifications:

 The more effective algorithm is needed to successfully classify the pork’s

freshness
 The pH sensor’s probe should not be invasive to the pork sample. Hence, the
used of contact-type probe is highly recommended.
 The gas sensors for the device should be the ones that is capable of detecting
specific gases such as Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia and VOCs.
 The device should be designed to have more portability.
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APPENDICES
 Appendix 1 – Firebase Real-time Database

Appendix 2 - Codeblocks for the Android Application Using App Inventor 2

Appendix 3 – Classification Algorithm